by Joe Henegan
The coronavirus is now affecting everyday life for almost all of us. You may be wondering what you can do to help on a practical level, when physical connection is becoming increasingly prohibited. As Christians, we know that we can pray. Here's an adapted extract from 5 Things to Pray For Your World by Rachel Jones to help guide you in praying for those working on the front line response, based on 2 Corinthians 1 V 3-11.
1. Praise God
Praise God that he is “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles” (v 3-4).
Think back to emergency situations or periods of illhealth when God has comforted you. Thank God that he stands ready to comfort all those who turn to him for help.
2. Comfort in trouble
“… so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (v 4).
Pray that Christian doctors, nurses, chaplains and patients would have opportunities to share something of their own faith with those in trouble. Ask God to help them speak of the only good news that can offer lasting comfort—that Christ can heal our relationship with God so that we can enjoy life to the full, for ever. Pray by name for any Christians you know personally.
3. Reliance on God
“We felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead” (v 9).
However good our healthcare is, only God is in control of life and death. Pray that both patients and professionals would come to appreciate their own helplessness in the face of death—and turn to rely on God, who raises the dead.
4. Deliverance from danger
“He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us…” (v 10).
God loves to deliver people from danger, including illhealth—in his grace, he often works through the skill of doctors and nurses. Ask him to use these professionals to save many lives and restore people to full health.
5. Answers to prayer
“ … as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favour granted us in answer to the prayers of many” (v 11).
Give thanks for the way God has answered your prayers in the past. Who else can you “help by your prayers” right now?
The 5 Things series is designed to give you fresh ideas to stimulate your prayer life. Each spread takes a passage of Scripture and suggests 5 things to pray for a particular area. Because when we pray in line with God's priorities as found in his word, our prayers are powerful and effective (James 5 v 16)—and that's a truly thrilling prospect.